default printing on TS, server 2008 x64, xpsp3 w/rdp7

i only ask questions when i have no time to go find the answer, which provides a fair trade of points for time

currently, we have a company wide printing issue that seems to have popped up around 2-3 weeks ago and they're just now telling me about.

the issues are probably related, but might not be, who knows.

the setup:
12 terminal servers running server 2008 x64 (r1) and server 2003 x32
clients connect from xp sp3 with the latest rdp, and dot net 3.5
clients "bring" their printers with them via the checkmark and the registry hack FilterQueueType
printing worked fine for at least 6 years over a few upgrades

1. users get set a random printer every time they log into the remote desktop
2. when people print, the fonts are almost always screwed up coming out of PDF documents, unless we choose "print as image"
3. when printing, it takes a really, really long time (60 seconds to see the first page)

the printers:
some hard-coded installed on the server pointing to an ip address
some brought with the connecting client (usb/parallel/ip)

the permissions:
users only see those printers which they have permission to see
for most users, that includes what they brought, and 1 or 2 "direct" printers (installed on the server, pointing to the printer)

there's no noticeable method to how the default gets picked each time. it's almost never the default which is chosen on the client before connecting.

i do have the command to run at user logon which chooses the default printer, but from what i can tell that only works for "direct" printers installed on the server. some users want their own printer they brought with them to be the default (random ts id port). that rundll command is NOT in use, but i'm ok using it if that's the fix.

so... the question:

what could have changed - or - at least - how to set default printers forever and have them stick.
possibly related: why so slow, and why are the fonts all jacked up?

troubleshooting:
doesn't matter if i pick PCL or PS or PPD drivers, the font issue is the same... although PCL is a lot faster, it only prints half the page :/

if the questions are not related, the main intent of this thread is to get the defaults fixed.

Do your end users still have the wrong email signature? Do email signature updates bore you or fill you with a sense of dread? You can make this a whole lot easier on yourself by trusting an Exclaimer email signature management solution. Over 50 million users do...so should you!

do you just care about PCL on the server and PCL on the client, or does the actual version matter? it's pretty difficult to find exact matching drivers for xp and 2008 - but at least we can be pcl/pcl or ps/ps

Scenario: You do full backups to a internal hard drive in either product (SBS or Server 2008). All goes well for a very long time. One day, backups begin to fail with a message that the disk is full. Your disk contains many, many more backups th…

If you migrate a Terminal Server licenses server inside the 2008 server family, you can takte advantage of the build-in migration tool. If you like to migrate an older 2003 Server (and the installed client CALs) to a 2008 R2 server for example, you …

This tutorial will give a short introduction and overview of Backup Exec 2012 and how to navigate and perform basic functions.
Click on the Backup Exec button in the upper left corner. From here, are global settings for the application such as conne…

This tutorial will walk an individual through the steps necessary to join and promote the first Windows Server 2012 domain controller into an Active Directory environment running on Windows Server 2008.
Determine the location of the FSMO roles by lo…